


Turning Point

by kurtbasthallen



Category: Torchwood
Genre: Brief mentions of Lisa and her death, Do not read if you haven't listened to Broken, M/M, broken coda
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-17
Updated: 2016-07-17
Packaged: 2018-07-24 11:25:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,041
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7506409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurtbasthallen/pseuds/kurtbasthallen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>That last scene from Jack's POV.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Turning Point

Jack looked down at his watch and let out a deep sigh. It had been ten minutes. “Time’s up,” he murmured, turning over the engine.  He had really thought that Ianto was going to come back with him. He had become such a fixture in the Hub that he couldn’t imagine what it would be like without the younger man around.Their work relationship and friendship had just started to become normal again. Bar tonight’s incident with the aliens, of course. But would that have got it out of his system now? Ianto did come through in the end and save him.

The sound of the door opening snapped him out of his thoughts, turning in his seat to look at ... well, the man who had been occupying his thoughts. He stared silently at Ianto, not sure what to say.

“Sorry. I’m sorry.” 

Jack just continued to stare at his employee. He had hoped that Ianto would come back to work with him. But, then... was he really going to do this? Was he going to forgive this man for betraying him again? This _young_ man. _You know that you’ve forgiven the Doctor, Jack. And you don’t even know if he left you on purpose. He probably did._ The legends of the Time Lords had made them out to be these all-knowing beings. The way that Doc’ would stare at Jack sometimes. It was almost like he knew what he was thinking sometimes.

“Jack?”

Realising that he had just been staring over Ianto’s shoulder off into the distance, Jack shook his shoulders a little, and met the other man’s gaze again. Ianto’s face was always so hard to read. He could pull off that stoic mask too well. Jack hid his emotions behind over-emoting... hiding his real emotions deep down. Ianto... Well, Ianto was good at hiding his emotions behind a blank expression. Now, all Jack could see was confusion mixed with a bit of desperation. He could understand that completely. Jack, himself, just wanted a bit of normality in this backwards century. His team were great... even when they were at each other’s throats, but he didn’t want to get too close. One day, he’d go off with the Doctor and get his answers, and maybe he would come back. Even if it were a century into Jack’s lifetime. It didn’t seem like he would be dying any time soon.

“So...” Jack started. He needed to stop zoning out. This was an important conversation. Ianto clearly isn’t coping well. Not that Jack blames him at all. Also he should probably start driving back to the hub.

“So.”

Great conversation, Jack. Well done.

“You wanna tell me what that was all about?” Was Ianto going to do this again? Did Jack have to watch his back from someone in his own team? Ianto seemed calm now, and he clearly regretted what he did but... he couldn’t be too careful.

“I-I don’t think I know... I don’t... I’m broken and I just have to deal with it.”

Jack’s brows furrowed slightly, turning in his seat more to face the younger man, his voice growing in intensity. He had guessed that Ianto was broken, but Tosh and Owen weren’t exactly the epitome of wholly sane and put together, either. Let alone Jack’s problems. The only one who seemed to be okay’ish was Gwen and he was a bit wary about her friendship with Owen recently. “Ianto, we’re _all broken_. Every single person on this planet is **_broken_**. _We’re all just dealing with it_.”

“You’re not, though, are you?”

Jack stared at Ianto in confusion, slightly incredulous. “What?” 

“The way you are, Jack... Do you feel _anything_?”

Ianto thought he was an emotionless monster? “Do you really think I don’t?” Jack’s incredulous tone definitely broke through that time. There was an echo of a memory from the night of the cyberwoman attack that floated to the back of his mind. **_I love her. Can you understand that, Jack? Haven’t you ever loved anyone?_** What about the week of the faeries? Was Ianto the only one not to have a go at Jack about Jasmine, just because he didn’t think Jack cared? Did he really give off that vibe?

“But you’re so - bloody - cocky.”

Jack laughed at that. Okay, he had to give Ianto that one. But his bravado was definitely earned, thank you. He had been around long enough to be justified.”Yeah, and you wear a suit and don’t think I don’t know why?” You know you look good in those suits, Ianto. It was one of the first things I complimented you on. Well, that, and it was still ingrained in Ianto from Torchwood One. Everyone who wasn’t in combats wore suits in that damn tower. “You don’t need a suit to _make coffee_.” Jack shook his head, before putting the car into drive and pulling away.

“What are you gonna do to me?” The wariness in Ianto’s tone sobered him up a bit and he shoved his joking aside for now, he could get back to that later. “I left you to die.”

Jaw tensing a little at the memory, Jack gripped onto the steering wheel tighter. “Yeah, it’s not the first time a friend’s done that.” His tone was almost nonchalant. The Doctor abandoning him still hurt sometimes, but it had faded to a dull ache in the back of his mind. He had had over 150 years to learn to deal with it after all.

“A friend?”

“Don’t make me say it!” With the way this conversation was going, Jack wouldn’t be surprised if he had emotional whiplash by the end of this.

“Please, say it.”

Jack closed his eyes, briefly, and took a deep breath, before returning his focus to the road, catching glimpses of Ianto out of the corner of his eye. “You’re my friend,” he admitted. “You’re not just my employee.” I care about you as a friend. Just like I care about the rest of the team. I want to trust you again. “And you keep lying to me, and you just nearly killed me...” He was really getting on a roll now and couldn’t help but throw in a little dig. “And, you know, just occasionally, your coffee isn’t as good as we say it is, but you’re still-”

“Stop the car!”

Almost jumping at the abrupt tone from Ianto, Jack pulled the car over. He scanned the road ahead and saw nothing, before turning to look at Ianto with a confused and exasperated look. “Why? What is it?” He pulled the handbrake up before turning in his seat slightly to stare at Ianto.

Ianto’s face was stony as he glared at Jack. “My coffee?”

Jack swallowed a laugh, trying not to burst out laughing at Ianto’s put upon expression. It was kind of cute, actually. Like an angry kitten. Insulting Ianto’s coffee was never a way to get into Ianto’s good graces. He couldn’t help the laugh that burst out. “Okay, okay. Calm down. Obviously, most of the time it is fantastic,” he reassured him, holding his hands up in a placating gesture. “But just _occasionally_ it’s not your best work.” Those would be the days where Jack could wish that he could make a subtle exit to go and get coffee from a local coffee chain, but he knew he’d feel guilty and he didn’t want to find out Ianto’s reaction to him doing so. 

“Oh.”

His face softened at the slight break in Ianto’s voice. He didn’t want to upset the younger man. Jack’s hands fell down by his sides and he gazed into Ianto’s eyes, trying to sound as earnest as possible. “Ianto, you are my friend.” Your wittiness, and your snark and your quiet nature is what drew me to you in the first place, and I want to be your friend properly. “No matter what you do... I’m here for you.”

“I f- ... I’ve been in so much pain... Everything hurts.” Ianto’s broke a couple of times, causing Jack to feel a pang in his chest. He almost wanted to reach out and pull Ianto into his arms but he didn’t want to force contact on him.

“I know, I know.” Even if Tosh hadn’t admitted her worries to Jack about what she overheard with the alien necklace, he had guessed so himself. Ianto was a fighter. You could see him fighting every day. But this job was taking its toll on him. Ianto probably needed someone to talk to. He did, but then she turned out to be shipping people off to a slave planet, so he could understand Ianto’s hesitancy, especially with Jack’s track record. Jack wouldn’t mind someone to talk to either. He didn’t really want to bother Tosh, she was doing so much better. “I know, and I would do anything in the world to take that pain away.”

“Kiss me.”

Jack’s eyes widened in surprise, his mouth falling open a little. Did he hear Ianto wrong? His voice was barely above a mumble. His breath left him in little gasps. “What did you just say?” he asked hesitantly.

“You could kiss me.”

So, he didn’t mishear him. Good. It wasn’t like Jack had never thought about it before. 

“I mean, only if you wanted to.”

“What?” Jack was still a bit flabbergasted. After Lisa had been found, he had shoved all of his thoughts of Ianto away. It’s not like he had pined for Ianto, but he did always find the younger man attractive. Ianto in those jeans when they first met and helping him with the weevil. Ianto in that suit when he helped to catch Myfanwy. Falling into Ianto’s arms after sedating Myfanwy. Rolling across the warehouse and ending up with the younger man’s warm weight on top of him. He had smelt so good that night. And felt amazing on top of him. Now everything was coming back to him, but... 

“I’m more complicated than you might think. Sir...”

“Well I-”

Jack’s words were cut off by Ianto pushing forward and bringing their lips together in a soft kiss. His eyes falling shut, Jack tilted his head to the side, and opened his mouth slightly, moving their lips together. It wasn’t the most coordinated of kisses but it felt good. And it felt right. It felt like it had been a long time coming. Jack reached up and cupped the side of Ianto’s face, before bringing the kiss to a close and pulled back just enough to gaze into Ianto’s blue eyes without his vision going blurry.

“You kissed me.” Jack breathed out, not quite believing that had just happened, a smile tugging at his lips.

“I did... and you kissed me back.”

The smile on Jack’s lips grew, Ianto seemed as disbelieving of this having happened as he did. “Yeah...” he drawled. His thoughts went back to what he was about to say before Ianto kissed him. “But this, er...” Jack breathed out heavily, chuckling loudly. “Relationships at work are never a good idea.” He was definitely attracted to Ianto, but he was also waiting for the Doctor and he couldn’t form strong emotional attachments, let alone be in a relationship with an employee. He was going to see the Doctor before the turn of the decade if the tarot girl were to be believed. 

“Who said anything about a relationship?”

Ianto always seemed to surprise Jack. Times were moving forward more rapidly now, and Jack’s preferences weren’t looked down upon as much. And neither was casual sex, thank god.

“We’re both screwed up. Maybe this is what we need.”

Jack tilted his head as his gaze roamed over Ianto’s face. There was nothing there that he could see that wasn’t earnest and happy. He huffed out a laugh, “Maybe.” He’d finally be able to stop wondering what it would be like to be with Ianto. “But just this once, yeah?”

“Just this once,” Ianto nodded.

“Tomorrow, we go back to whatever passes for normal in our lives,” Jack reiterated, his lips curling back up into a smile.

“Tomorrow.”

* * *

 

The next day, Jack gets a call from a Detective Kathy Swanson. It never did stay as a one-time thing.

**Author's Note:**

> *one more night by maroon 5 starts playing in the background*
> 
> I may continue this. This was my first ever fandom and I never really wrote anything in it lol.


End file.
